Hunger alters approach-avoidance behaviours differently in male and female mice.

Background: The decision about whether to approach or avoid a reward while under threat requires balancing competing demands. Sex-specific prioritisations (e.g.

Training Schedule Affects Operant Responding Independent of Motivation in the Neuroligin-3 R451C Mouse Model of Autism.

Autism affects ~1 in 100 people and arises from the interplay between rare genetic changes and the environment. Diagnosis is based on social and communication difficulties, as well as the presence of restricted and repetitive behaviours. Autism aetiology is complex.

The Fracture Ankle Implant Review (FAIR) study : a national multicentre retrospective review of practice in implant choice, fixation methods, and outcomes in fixation of the fibula in ankle fractures.

Aims: In fixation of the fibula in ankle fractures, the AO Foundation advocates using a lag screw and one-third tubular neutralization plate for simple patterns. Where a lag screw cannot be placed, bridging fixation is required. A local pilot service evaluation previously identified variance in use of locking plates in all patterns with significant cost implications.

Fit for Purpose: Does radiation personal protective equipment provision match the requirements of our trauma and orthopaedics surgical workforce?

Introduction: The use of ionising radiation for fluoroscopic interventions is widespread across many surgical specialities. Employers have a legal responsibility to ensure healthcare workers are appropriately protected from this hazard, with one component of this being provision of radiation personal protective equipment (PPE).

Methods: Independent studies were undertaken across four regions of England in 2023 (North West (NW), Wessex, West Midlands and Severn) in 35 hospital trusts to catalogue and evaluate radiation PPE provision in theatres.

Habenula contributions to negative self-cognitions.

Self-related cognitions are integral to personal identity and psychological wellbeing. Persistent engagement with negative self-cognitions can precipitate mental ill health; whereas the ability to restructure them is protective. Here, we leverage ultra-high field 7T fMRI and dynamic causal modelling to characterise a negative self-cognition network centred on the habenula - a small midbrain region linked to the encoding of punishment and negative outcomes.

Midbrain ghrelin receptor signalling regulates binge drinking in a sex specific manner.

Risky drinking rates are rising, particularly in women, yet sex as a biological variable has only recently gained traction. The centrally projecting Edinger-Westphal (EWcp) nucleus has emerged as a key regulator of alcohol consumption. Here we found that EWcp cells reduce binge drinking specifically in female mice.

Exploring the utility of N-acetylcysteine for loss of control eating: protocol of an open-label single-arm pilot study.

Background: A sense of loss of control over eating, such that eating occurs despite the intent not to, is common in people with obesity and eating disorders such as binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa. Currently, options for management of loss of control eating are limited. We recently determined that the pro-drug N-acetylcysteine (NAC) reduces compulsive-like eating in a rat model of diet-induced obesity.

An Island of Reil excitation: Mapping glutamatergic (vGlut1+ and vGlut2+) connections in the medial insular cortex.

The insular cortex is a multifunctional and richly connected region of the cerebral cortex, critical in the neural integration of external stimuli and internal signals. Well-served for this role by a large network of afferent and efferent connections, the mouse insula can be simplified into an anterior, medial and posterior portion. Here we focus on the medial subregion, a once over-looked area that has gained recent attention for its involvement in an array of behaviours.

Comparison of the Nutritional Adequacy of Current Food-Based Very Low Energy Diets: A Review and Nutritional Analysis.

Very low energy diets (VLEDs) contain <800 kcal/day and typically comprise formulated meal replacement products with adequate protein and micronutrients. Food-based VLEDs are an alternative approach, but it is uncertain whether they can provide adequate nutrition within an 800 kcal/day restriction. This analysis aimed to assess the nutritional adequacy of food-based VLEDs compared with formula VLEDs.

The effect of bariatric surgery on the expression of gastrointestinal taste receptors: A systematic review.

Gastrointestinal nutrient sensing via taste receptors may contribute to weight loss, metabolic improvements, and a reduced preference for sweet and fatty foods following bariatric surgery. This review aimed to investigate the effect of bariatric surgery on the expression of oral and post-oral gastrointestinal taste receptors and associations between taste receptor alterations and clinical outcomes of bariatric surgery. A systematic review was conducted to capture data from both human and animal studies on changes in the expression of taste receptors in oral or post-oral gastrointestinal tissue following any type of bariatric surgery.

A paraventricular thalamus to insular cortex glutamatergic projection gates "emotional" stress-induced binge eating in females.

It is well-established that stress and negative affect trigger eating disorder symptoms and that the brains of men and women respond to stress in different ways. Indeed, women suffer disproportionately from emotional or stress-related eating, as well as associated eating disorders such as binge eating disorder. Nevertheless, our understanding of the precise neural circuits driving this maladaptive eating behavior, particularly in women, remains limited.

Binge eating, overeating and food addiction: Approaches for examining food overconsumption in laboratory rodents.

Overeating ranges in severity from casual overindulgence to an overwhelming drive to consume certain foods. At its most extreme, overeating can manifest as clinical diagnoses such as binge eating disorder or bulimia nervosa, yet subclinical forms of overeating such as emotional eating or uncontrolled eating can still have a profoundly negative impact on health and wellbeing. Although rodent models cannot possibly capture the full spectrum of disordered overeating, studies in laboratory rodents have substantially progressed our understanding of the neurobiology of overconsumption.

Disability, Discrimination, and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Stress Process Model.

Drawing on data from a community survey with a sizeable subsample of people with physical, intellectual, and psychological disabilities in the Intermountain West region of the United States ( = 2,043), this investigation examined the association of social stressors stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic with ableism or disability-related discrimination. We further assessed the significance of these associations for variation by disability status in psychological well-being with a moderated mediation analysis. Study findings provide clear evidence that greater pandemic-related stressor exposure was associated with greater discrimination, which in turn increased the psychologically distressing aspects of the pandemic for people with disabilities relative to people without disabilities.

A Comparison of Emotional Triggers for Eating in Men and Women with Obesity.

Objective: Emotional eating (EE) is prevalent in people seeking obesity treatment and is a contributor to poor weight loss outcomes. We aimed to delineate the emotions most associated with this type of eating, and whether they differ by sex in people undergoing obesity treatment.

Methods: A cross-sectional study recruiting 387 adults from a hospital obesity management service.

Addiction-like behaviour towards high-fat high-sugar food predicts relapse propensity in both obesity prone and obesity resistant C57BL/6 J mice.

Compulsive overeating of palatable food is thought to underlie some forms of obesity. Similarities are often observed in the behavioural symptomology and the neuropathophysiology underlying substance use disorder and compulsive overeating. As such, preclinical animal models which assess addiction-like behaviour towards food may assist the understanding of the neurobiology underlying overeating behaviour.

Compulsive-like eating of high-fat high-sugar food is associated with 'addiction-like' glutamatergic dysfunction in obesity prone rats.

Chronic overeating is a core feature of diet-induced obesity. There is increasing evidence that in vulnerable individuals, such overeating could become compulsive, resembling an addictive disorder. The transition to compulsive substance use has been linked with changes at glutamatergic synapses in the nucleus accumbens.

Influence of Jamaican Cultural and Religious Beliefs on Adherence to Pharmacotherapy for Non-Communicable Diseases: A Pharmacovigilance Perspective.

Worldwide, socio-cultural determinants have been shown to influence the beliefs of patients about their health and decision making for treatment. This is consistent with the evidence that cultural and religious beliefs affect illness conceptualization and behaviors of Jamaican patients living with non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Despite these known socio-cultural influences, an acknowledgment of relevance of adherence to pharmacotherapy has been grossly understudied.

Opioid use-related stigma and health care decision-making.

Objective: Stigma is described as highly relevant to the treatment context for opioid use disorder (OUD) partly because it is known to influence providers' treatment decisions and care provision. However, further study is needed to directly test the salience of stigmatizing views for healthcare decision-making among providers, and particularly those including medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). This study assessed whether stigma toward illicit opioid use was associated with a willingness to provide or refer patients for MOUD treatment among a sample of healthcare providers.

Psychometric evaluation of two indices assessing stigma toward opioid misuse and treatment among health care providers.

: Stigma is described as highly relevant to the treatment context for opioid use disorder (OUD) partly because it is known to influence clinicians' treatment decisions and care provision. However, appropriate measures are needed to test the salience of stigmatizing views held by clinicians directly.: This study assessed dimensionality, reliability, and validity evidence for two measures - of public stigma toward opioid misuse and clinician stigma associated with medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), respectively.

Quality of fracture reduction is associated with patient survival at one year, but not 30 days, following trochanteric hip fracture fixation. A retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: Few studies have been performed to evaluate the association between technical surgical factors and patient outcomes following hip fracture surgery. We performed a retrospective cohort study of elderly patients who had undergone fixation of trochanteric hip fractures using a sliding hip screw (SHS), with the aim of establishing whether there was a correlation between quality of fracture reduction and mortality at 30 days and one year.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective cohort study was designed.